Aris Zhu, Hamilton High School, Chandler, Arizona

CASA: A Novel Intracanal Medicament for Endodontic Infections

Currently, calcium hydroxide (CaOH) is used as an intracanal medicament to treat root canal infections. However, CaOH paste is ineffective against persistent bacteria Enterococcus faecalis and fungus Candida albicans, which may give rise to health conditions including heart valve infection or periodontitis, respectively. Read More

Repurposing Exhaled CO2 for Spacecraft

Presented By Caitlin Moffett , University of Arizona (Graduate Student)

Life support is a vital component in any manned space mission, and some waste production is a small price to pay for keeping astronauts safe and healthy in space. Read More

SARS-CoV-2 Monitoring in Wastewater as an Early Warning Signal for COVID-19 Presence in Communities

Presented By Devin Bowes, Arizona State University

The COVID-19 global pandemic caused by the virus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has highlighted several challenges within our healthcare system, such as accessible testing and rapid reporting. Read More

Automated physiological analysis of Engineered Heart Tissues from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Presented by Eli Lefkowitz, Catalina Foothills High School

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for one in every four deaths. To understand these deaths, cardiomyocytes can be generated from a patient’s blood by first converting blood into a stem cell state called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Read More

Elizabeth Fear, Horizon Honors High School (research conducted at the University of Arizona)

Effect of Hydration on Rhodopsin Activation

Rhodopsin, responsible for vision under dim light, is a prominent member of the G-Protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) protein class which is targeted by a third of all pharmaceuticals. Read More

Characterizing Primary Mesothelioma Cell Lines by Exome Sequencing

Presented by Ghena Krdi, University of Arizona (Graduate Student)

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive type of lung cancer. Currently, its main cause is asbestos exposure. It is usually discovered at an advanced stage which makes treatment harder as there is no cure. Read More

Hersh Nanda, BASIS Chandler/ASU Science Program (High School Student)

An innovative polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic biosensing platform for rapid detection of viruses

The objective of this research project was to develop an innovative procedure for the fabrication of a versatile PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) microfluidic device that is capable of detecting viruses and small molecules. Read More

Green Infrastructure Impacts on Carbon Cycling: Evaluating Changes in Soil Microbial Composition and Function

Presented by Isabel Ross, Cienega High School, Vail, Arizona

Green Infrastructure (GI) redirects water into the soil, affecting soil microbial diversity, decomposition, and stabilization of carbon. Soil microbes drive decomposition and carbon stabilization, making them important for carbon cycling. Read More

How Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in Apolipoprotein (APOE) Impact Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Pathology

Presented By Katherine Wei, BASIS High School, Chandler, Arizona

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by beta-amyloid plaques that build up in the brain as well as tau protein which form tangles around brain cells. Read More

Nikita Kumari, Arizona State University (Graduate Student)

Diving Deep into the Red: Novel Cyanine Dyes for Super-Resolution Imaging

Fluorescent probes help biologists illuminate the inner workings of cancer cells. In this work, we study the photophysical properties of a novel class of far-red fluorescent probes that could allow live tissue to be imaged in greater depth and detail than is possible with current techniques. Read More

An R-Shiny app for trait data processing

Presented by Prasiddhi Gyawali, Sonoran Science Academy – Tucson

The Functional Trait Resource for Environmental Studies (FuTRES) project works with vertebrate trait data from individuals intending to make data more accessible and interoperable. Since data are collected by different people using different methods, it can be hard for everyone to understand exactly what the data mean. Read More

New Structural Insights into the Function of the Active Full-Length Human Taspase1: A Novel Anticancer Therapeutic Target

Presented by Rebecca Jernigan (Arizona State University – Graduate Student)

Taspase1 (threonine aspartase 1) is an endopeptidase overexpressed in primary human cancers that has been identified as a novel potentially potent anticancer drug target. Read More

SAVR- Stroke and Cardiovascular Risk Assessment using Wearable Technology

Presented By Roshan Pillai, BASIS Scottsdale

Cardiovascular risk is the risk of a person developing cardiovascular diseases, often sudden. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Read More

Shaun Karakkattu, Basis High School, Mesa, AZ

Inhibiting the Proliferation of Patient-Derived Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) cells by activating Estrogen Receptor beta using estradiol and IGF-1

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and common type of primary brain tumor. Patients with GBM have a median survival rate between 12-14 months. Read More

Radiation-responsive Nanosensor Gel (RaNG): A New way to Monitor Cancer Radiotherapy Doses

Presented By Subhadeep Dutta, Arizona State University Graduate Student

Radiotherapy using ionizing radiation (e.g. X rays) still remains a mainstay of treatment modalities in clinic for different types of cancers. Read More

Validation of Predictions From a Novel Small-Sample Statistic of Valley Fever and Dysregulated Pathways and Increasing Statistical Power of Metabolite Identifiers Through Biocuration

Presented by Suraj Puvvadi, BASIS Scottsdale

Precision medicine is an approach to patient care that optimizes the efficiency and personalizes treatments based on transcriptomic, genomic, and metabolomic profiling. Read More

Swapnika Raola, University of Southern California (Undergraduate Student)

End-point PCR Analysis Using Capillary Flow as an Alternative to Gel Electrophoresis

We are finding a faster alternative to gel electrophoresis for template DNA identification. Using the same primer, bacteria strains Escherichia coli K-12 and O157:H7 form different amplicon lengths. Read More

Can Forensic Quality DNA be Extracted from Discarded Gum?

Presented by Yakeleen Almazan and Asher Bankhead, Pueblo High School

The purpose of our research is to determine whether forensic scientists can accurately use gum samples to extract Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and identify suspects. Read More